Justyn's Fate
by Alise09
Summary: Justyn goes to Venice and meets up wthe former residents of the Star Palace. They hear a rumor of a witch that lives under the city with a huge fortune and try to find her.He desperatlytries to find his lost family, but his father's murderer's are after h
1. Chapter 1

**The Heartbreaking Decision**

"James, it doesn't have to be like this," the woman pleaded as she held her new baby girl.

"Please, Traci, I've made my decision. _That _wasn't supposed to happen. I don't know if I'm ready for another one." James replied motioning at the newborn child."

"But you can't abandon us! Don't you want your new daughter to have a father?"

"Yes, as long as it's not me!" he retorted, "You have plenty of money from your father, it isn't like you'll die without me."

"But she needs you! She needs your love!" Then she added softly, "So do I…"

"But I don't love you, Traci," he said, "I just thought I did, so did you."

"No, that's not true. Even if you abandon me and your daughter, even if you take my two-year-old son away from me, even if you leave Venice for America," she said America as if it were a piece of slime on her tongue, "I'll still love you James Grimani!"

He was silent for a moment, and then replied, "Traci, I don't love you anymore, I can't make it any more plain, and this marriage isn't going to work out. If you do love me like you say you do, you'll let me take my son and leave."

At that moment, a little boy walked in, "Daddy, Mommy? Why are you shouting? Why is Mommy crying?"

The mother went over and embraced her son. Then lookedat him for a long while trying to make a decision.One that would change her life forever. Finally, she whispered in his ear, "Justyn, no matter what happens, where you go, or what you think, I want you to know that I will always love you."

"Mommy? What are you talking about?"

"You and Daddy are going to take a long trip," she said with tears flowing down her cheeks. "I love you Justyn and I will think of you every single day that you're gone."

"I love you too Mommy," said the little boy as he and his mother embraced for what Traci thought was the last time.

When she finally released her son, James reached forward and grabbed his hand, "Come on, I've got everything packed. We're going to America!"

All Justin said was, "Okay, Daddy." And let himself be led out the door.

Sobbing, Traci picked up her crying daughter. She wiped away both hers and her baby's tears with her sleeve. Her heart broken from her son being taken away from her by the man she loved, she comforted her child.

"Shh," Traci cooed, "It's alright, I'm here. I love you."


	2. Chapter 2

**The Unexpected Guests**

_North Carolina's east coast - 10 years later…_

"Justyn, if you look right there you'll see the belt of Orion. See it?" James said with an arm around his son.

"Where? I can't see it," Justyn looked through the night sky trying to find the constellation.

Putting his head next to Justyn's, he pointed up at the a group of stars, "It's the three bright stars in a row."

"Oh, now I see it! Are those Orion's legs and arms?"

"Yes," replied the father. It always amazed him how his son marveled at the constellations, just like his mother…

_No, I won't think about her, not right now._

James looked at his watch, "Hey Just, it's getting late, we should head home."

Reluctantly, Justyn let himself be lead off to the truck. His neck still craned back to look at the many lights in the sky.

"Dad, did you look at the constellations a lot when you were my age?" Justyn asked as they started off down the dirt road.

_Oh, no. It's time for the question and answer game about my past._ James thought to himself. He didn't feel comfortable talking about his past.

"No, not really. I wasn't that interested in it that much actually," He finally admitted.

"What did you like to do?" Justyn asked.

"Hmm…well, I liked to fish. I also liked to help the gondolieri when he took people through the canals."

"Did you like Venice?"

James hesitated for a few moments before replying, "In some ways, yes, I loved it there, but for other reasons, I couldn't stand it."

Frustrated that he didn't get a straight answer, Justyn asked another question, "Why did you leave Venice?"

"That's for another time, Justyn. Not now, I'm not ready yet," he replied.

_Dang it! _Justyn cursed to himself. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get his father to tell him why he left Venice. Of what he read in some of his books, it sounded like a wonderful place to live. He would have dearly wanted to visit it. He even mentioned it to his father once, but all he received was a stern glare and a made up excuse of why they couldn't go.

They arrived at their driveway in a relatively short time both silent with their own thoughts. James got out to get their mail and Justyn just looked at the house he had lived in for the past ten years. It was a relatively small house with only one floor and a basement. That didn't bother him much because a small wood surrounded it. The roof was covered with black tiles and the house was a light blue. A few stepping-stones to the front door were missing and the big bush he had hidden in from is child hood still had the gaping hole in the back of fit.

_There's no place like home. _He sighed contentedly.

Then he heard the gun shot.

Out of instinct, Justyn spun around in his seat and saw his father fall to the ground. He jumped out of the truck and crawled to his guardian. He had been shot in the chest.

"Dad!"

"Justyn…" James gasped, "…Take this."

He weakly pulled a necklace from around his neck and held it out to his frightened and confused son. Justyn took it gently as if afraid to break his fingers. He heard three men's voices.

"Go to Venice…look for your mother," he whispered.

"No," Justyn breathed, "No, I won't leave you."

Now he could hear footsteps, much closer then the voices were just seconds before.

"Just go…don't let them… take that from you."

"Dad, don't go!" he said softly, tears falling down his cheeks.

"Just go…please hurry," he shoved Justyn with his last shred of strength and then went limp.

"Where did he fall? I didn't see," A voice said.

Justyn looked at his father one last time, pulled the necklace on, and crawled away into the woods as deep as he could and still witness the scene in front of him.

He peered through and saw three men dressed in black attire walk into his driveway. One was tall with a hooked nose and a piercing black eyes, he appeared to be the leader of the three. The second man was short and plump. His brown hair was combed perfectly, without a flaw; he looked at the body with utter distaste.

"Did we really have to shoot him? I mean, we could've just stolen it or threatened his kid," he said in a baritone voice. "This is just…messy."

"No you idiot! That wouldn't have worked! He never lets that thing out of his sight! Besides, we wouldn't have had a chance to get the boy. He watches him too well." The third man said.

He was short and Asian with a pointed nose and sharp cheekbones. His slanted eyes only showed hatred when he looked at the body.

"Search him," the tall man said in a deep voice holding a gun in one of his hands.

The other two hastily jumped to work searching James' pockets, his clothes, and even his shoes.

Finally, the plump man looked up, "Sir, it's not here."

"What do you mean it's not there? It has to be! Its not in the house, we already searched in there!"

Justyn looked at the necklace, '_What makes this so special that it is worth a man's life to get?'_

"Where's the kid? I saw him in the truck as they came in! I bet he has it!" the Asian man cried out.

Justyn froze, unable to move even if he had wanted to.

"Why would he give it to a boy? Do you realize how much he treasured it?" berated the tall man. "Like he would give it to him like it was a new toy!"

"But where is he, Tom?" the plump man asked, "Jin was right about seeing him in the truck. I saw him too."

"Why does it matter? He probably ran away as soon as I pulled this trigger."

"I don't know about that," Jin said uncertainly.

"If it makes you feel better, have a look around, I doubt you'll find anyone though." Then turning to the fat man he said, "Jasper, look around for it again. Check the house, check him, it has to be around here somewhere…"

As Jasper jumped to work, Jin was checking his old hiding bush and the front porch. Before he could even step past the tree line, Justyn disappeared. He slipped away as silently and quickly as he could, when he was positive that he had gotten away, he broke out into a sprint. He ran until he finally reached the bay. He should've gone to the police, but he wasn't thinking clearly. He just witnessed his father being murdered and now the men who committed it would soon be after him. He looked around and saw a ship being loaded with cargo. He saw a boy a bit older than him walk by carrying something onto the ship.

"Excuse me? Do you know how I can get to Venice?" He asked when the boy returned from depositing his burden on the boat.

"Actually, yes. A ship is going to head over there in about four days time. Why?"

Justyn decided that there was no point to lie, "I'm supposed to visit my mother there." Then softly he added, "My father just died."

"Oh," the boy stopped looking distressed, "You know, I lost my dad when I was five or six."

Justyn looked at him with surprise, "How'd he die?"

"Heart attack."

Now it was his turn to look symapthetic.

"What's your name?" the boy asked breaking the silence.

"Justyn."

"I'm Rob," Then he added, "If you need a place to stay, you can stay with me. I'm going to be working on the ship going to Venice. Greg has been looking for a galley boy, that's the only way you'd get on anyway."

"Sounds great!" Justyn said relieved and followed Rob as he set off down the bay.


End file.
